iWorld vs. weWorld

Andrew Sullivan writes that "Society is dead, we have retreated to the iWorld" in a recent comment in the Sunday Times, lamenting the isolation created by the MP3 cocoons that surround so many iPod people.  One definition of "pod" in Merriam Webster’s dictionary is "a usually protective container or housing".  I suspect that Apple was intending more of the container aspect rather than the protective aspect in their naming of the iPod, but they may well have been intending both; in any case, it appears that it is serving to protect both the container of music and the consumer of music.

I originally read about this article on Tom Peter’s blog, in a post by Halley Suitt, which had 32 comments, some of which point to some of the ways people have used iPods to increase rather than decrease social interaction, e.g., podjacking and podcasting (an excellent summary of these and other variations of iPod use can be found in Paul McFedries‘ article on "The iPod People").  However, I suspect these uses are more the exception than the rule, and most people create a protective shell around themselves — intentionally or knowingly or not — when they use their iPods.

What is not clear, at least not to me, is whether more people are tuning out by tuning in to their iPods than would be tuning out via other means, e.g., reading a book in a subway car. I own an iPod and use it primarily for audiobooks (I suppose there may be some irony here about blending two protective strategies).  I’m sometimes keenly aware of the virtual bubble I’m creating around myself when I take my dog — and my iPod — out for a walk.  I try to make good eye contact with any passersby so as to miminize the potential antisocial effect created by the iPod (given that JoJo often creates conversation opportunities), but there is definitely a difference in the breadth and depth of interactions between iPodful and iPodless walking.  I would not take a book to read during our walks, and so my iPod makes me ultimately less social than I would be if I didn’t own one.  And, as important as socializing and networking are to me, I am not prepared to give up my mobile library.

I’m reminded of an article I read about shyness, and wonder if by making it easier — and cooler — to tune out, more people may be taking the easy way out (of social interactions).  Although I share some of the concerns that Andrew raises in his article (I’ll include a few of my favorite quotes below), I think that many of the potentially isolating technologies can help to broaden rather than narrow our perspectives and experience.  Another example of technology-enhanced isolation he cites is blogging; while I do recognize that many blogs are biased, the ones that I read often include comments from people expressing different biases, and so the net effect is to give me a broader awareness of issues than I might gain from reading a purportedly unbiased newspaper article.  My hope is that as iPods and wireless communication technologies converge, we’ll see interesting new ways to gain greater awareness — and, perhaps, appreciation — of the people in our midsts.

Quotes from the Times article:

Americans are beginning to narrow their lives.

You get your news from your favourite blogs, the ones that won’t challenge your view of the world. You tune into a satellite radio service that also aims directly at a small market — for new age fanatics, liberal talk or Christian rock. Television is all cable. Culture is all subculture. Your cell phones can receive e-mail feeds of your favourite blogger’s latest thoughts — seconds after he has posted them — get sports scores for your team or stock quotes of your portfolio.

Technology has given us a universe entirely for ourselves — where the serendipity of meeting a new stranger, hearing a piece of music we would never choose for ourselves or an opinion that might force us to change our mind about something are all effectively banished.

Atomisation by little white boxes and cell phones. Society without the social. Others who are chosen — not met at random.

…

Not so long ago I was on a trip and realised I had left my iPod behind. Panic. But then something else. I noticed the rhythms of others again, the sound of the airplane, the opinions of the taxi driver, the small social cues that had been obscured before. I noticed how others related to each other. And I felt just a little bit connected again and a little more aware.

Try it. There’s a world out there. And it has a soundtrack all its own.